Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Interesting Fact 1: The Scots call whisky the 'water of life'. If you do an online search on whisky you will realise that whisky is a shortened form of usquebaugh (never mind if we can't pronounce that). It literally translate to 'water of life'.

Interesting Fact 2: In 2010, more Michelin stars have been handed to UK restaurants than any other time in the 35 year history of the gastronomic award.

Interesting Fact 3: Scotland has 15 Michelin-starred restaurants from capital city Edinburgh all the way up to the Highlands.

Interesting Fact 4: International Culinary Tourism Association recently declared Scotland as one of the most “unique, memorable and interesting” places for food and drink on the planet.

VisitBritain recently organised a Scotch Whisky Trail for a few bloggers and I was quite intrigue by it. I don't drink alcohol but I attended it hoping to learn more about Whisky. The session was held at Quaich Bar at Waterfront Plaza.

Quaich Bar / The Whisky Store is opened by husband and wife team, Khoon Hui and Joyce. They have more than 100 types of whiskies for you to try!

Khoon Hui led us through the Whisky Trail, explaining so passionately all about Whisky. I have never drunk whisky before this and I learned so much from the expert.

We were introduced to single malt whiskies in Scotland. If I remember correctly, the major regions that produced them for the whiskies we tried were from the Highlands, Lowlands, Campbeltown and Islay.

Malt whisky is made from none other than malted barley. The barley will then be steeped in water to allow it to get to a point of germination. When the desired germination is reached, it is dried using smoke. Peat like what is pictured above, is added to the fire to give it a peaty flavour.

I was quite overwhelmed by the different tastes and smell of it.
You could actually smell the countryside from one of them. Personally, I like the smell more than the taste!

I tried to recall the difference between them, but I can't recall.
The 46% of alcohol made me giddy though I only smell it. :-)

If you are into Scottish Food and Drinks, you will be glad that VisitBritain has a Scotland Food and Drink Online Supplement. It features Scotland's finest gastronomical fare and its fresh produce.

Featuring Scotland’s Michelin-starred chefs, this supplement draws attention to Scotland’s amazing natural larder, and the importance of seasonality in their menus. Of course, no Scotland food story is complete without a thorough lowdown on whisky, the “Water of Life” as the Scots call it.